PURR Collection Policy

PURR Collection Mandate

The Purdue University Research Repository (PURR) is provided by the Purdue Libraries in collaboration with Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP) and the Office of the Vice President for Research. As such, PURR is committed to implementing and supporting the Libraries' Mission as articulated in the current Purdue University Libraries, Press and Copyright Office Strategic Plan. This mission is:

“to advance the creation of knowledge for the global community through provision and preservation of scholarly information resources; teaching of information literacy; research in library, archival, and information sciences; and the development of dynamic physical and virtual learning environments.”

PURR’s Digital Preservation Policy also states that:

“the Digital Preservation Program within Libraries is responsible for identifying, securing, and providing the means to preserve and ensure ongoing access to selected digital assets.”

Furthermore, in its January 2012 meeting, the Libraries' Planning and Operations Council established the collection management responsibilities of subject specialist librarians and archivists in vetting content for publication and archiving in PURR, as well as selection and deselection, which are to comply with broader collection management policies, practices, and governance within the Libraries.

The PURR Designated Community

PURR is an institutional repository service and virtual research environment that provides support for the research data lifecycle for Purdue University researchers and their immediate project collaborators. Faculty, staff, and graduate students from any Purdue campus are eligible to create projects and submit datasets for potential publication or archiving. Non-Purdue collaborators are required to have at least one valid Purdue user from the project named as a creator or contributor to be eligible to submit datasets. Purdue librarians will vet datasets for publication or archiving from constituents in their liaison areas.

Subjects and Arrangement

PURR’s Collection Policy is designed to enhance research collections and data curation in all subjects and disciplines at Purdue University. Data from all fields and subjects may be published and/or archived in PURR provided the following conditions are being met:

the potential provider is a member of the PURR Designated Community as articulated above.

the data being submitted are permissible by Purdue University, the Libraries, PURR, and their respective policies and practices.

the data being submitted are permissible by all appropriate legal authorities and regulations.

When a user submits a dataset to PURR, he or she grants the University a non-exclusive license to steward and distribute the dataset in perpetuity.

Acceptable Formats

PURR collections consist of research datasets and related information. All submissions to PURR will be in digital format. They must be associated with a valid project in PURR and be appropriately related to the University's research and teaching mission. Submissions must also be in compliance with PURR's Terms of Use.

A dataset is typically a collection of files and metadata, including preservation and presentation information, as well as annotations and ancillary content that is associated with the data. PURR is limited in scope to data that are, or are associated with, the "raw" inputs to or outputs from research such as spreadsheets, sensor and instrument data, surveys, transcripts, images, video, and software source code. Other repositories are more appropriate for other formats; for example, journal and conference papers resulting from research would be out of scope for PURR and should be referred to Purdue e-Pubs.

The repository’s Preservation Strategies outline its Preservation Actions. An integral component of the strategies is File Format Recognition. This process takes place upon ingest. PURR staff verify and document the initial file format. Any potential transformation or migration of the file will include information on the original file format and any subsequent changes to it in the object’s metadata.

Revision of the PURR Collection Development Policy

PURR is committed to the maintenance, periodical review, and revision of all its policies, procedures, and documentation as outlined in the Digital Preservation Policy. This Collection Development Policy is included in this practice. Users who wish to challenge PURR’s Collection Policy, or offer suggestions or comments on it may do so through the Libraries Administration.

The Purdue University Research Repository (PURR) is a university core research facility provided by the Purdue University Libraries, the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships, and Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP).